Bob & Jack Week: #5 - WQSR (Jack FM) Baltimore
Written May. 13, 2009 by Sean Ross in Bob/Jack Week + Content + Terrestrial Radio with 2 Comments
WQSR (102.7 Jack FM) Baltimore has an unusual history. It was the most successful of CBS' heritage Oldies-to-Jack flips. Consultant Joel Folger was involved with the station, giving it essentially a Bob engine in a Jack body. And now a station swap has sent it from CBS to Clear Channel, which has done a smattering of Adult Hits stations but hadn't been in the "Jack-FM Business."
So far, Jack/Baltimore sounds a lot like it did when last heard before the changeover in December. It has a little more rhythm than the average station in the format. It can also be a little more '90s-based at times -- today's "Nine at Nine" year was 1994, allowing it to play "100% Pure Love" by Crystal Waters out of "Zombie" by the Cranberries. (The most provocative segue, however, was during the Web-only stopset: "Everybody Dance" by Ta Mara & the Seen into "Another Saturday Night" by Cat Stevens.)
Here's the station at 9:45 this morning:
Janet Jackson, "What Have You Done For Me Lately"
Foreigner, "Feels Like The First Time"
Stevie Nicks, "Talk To Me"
John Parr, "Naughty Naughty"
Paula Abdul, "Straight Up"
R.E.M., "The One I Love"
Blondie, "Rapture"
Duncan Sheik, "Barely Breathing"
Donna Summer, "Bad Girls"
Journey, "Don't Stop Believing"
Duran Duran, "The Reflex"
Reader Comments
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Since CC always puts its playlists on its web sites, I looked on the Jack Baltimore web site and if it's correct, they're right now tracking *only* 570-some songs. Wasn't the whole idea of Jack and Bob to go against the 500-song library meme of most formats and play a lot more than that? Or have some Variety Hits stations tightened up the playlist just like every other format?
Close to 1400 songs in the last 7 days according to Mediabase.